Displaced by Evanston fire, Syrian refugee family of 10 receives aid from organization, community

Brian L. Cox / Pioneer Press

A refugee advocacy organization, private donors and more have come to the aid of the Syrian refugee family that was displaced when this house in the 1700 block of Lyons Street in Evanston caught fire in August.

A refugee advocacy organization, private donors and more have come to the aid of the Syrian refugee family that was displaced when this house in the 1700 block of Lyons Street in Evanston caught fire in August.

(Brian L. Cox / Pioneer Press)

Kyra SenesePioneer Press

The organization that helped a Syrian refugee family settle in Evanston when they arrived in this country a year ago is now aiding them in relocating after an early morning fire destroyed their residence last month.

The nonprofit advocacy organization RefugeeOne is helping a family of 10, including seven children, who were displaced Aug. 22 following an extra-alarm fire at the single-family home they were renting in the 1700 block of Lyons Street.

The family is Syrian and came to the U.S. from Jordan as refugees. They came to Chicago in July 2016 and had been Evanston residents since shortly thereafter, said Jims Porter, communications and policy coordinator at RefugeeOne.

The family's name was not publicly provided to protect their privacy.

The Chicago-based organization found and furnished the Evanston home when the family first arrived, Porter said. He said that finding another dwelling may not be so easy.

"With a family that large, it can be a challenge to find an affordable apartment with enough space," Porter said. "We work with a number of landlords who are willing to rent to refugees, including those from which this home was rented."

The house is owned by Sargon Isaac of Skokie, according to city and county documents.

Evanston Fire Department Division Chief Paul Polep said the early morning blaze last month has been ruled an accidental fire that initially began outside.

Severe smoke damage entered the home and has left it "unlivable," Polep said.

He explained that there were working smoke detectors in the home, but the fire ignited outdoors and delayed the ability of smoke detection by devices inside the home.

"It's going to take a bit more time for a smoke detector to pick up an outside fire because it's waiting for the smoke to build up," Polep said.

Though the 10 residents escaped the residence without serious injuries, the family is now in search of a new long-term home, Porter said.

Porter said an agency housing manager is working closely with the family to find them a new place to live.

It is unclear what will happen with the burned out house. The owner did not return calls seeking comment.

In the meantime, RefugeeOne helped arrange for the family to live temporarily at Jesus People – a faith-based church and community located in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood – following the fire. The family previously stayed there when they first arrived in Chicago last year.

"Ideally, we're trying to locate something in Evanston so their children won't have to go through the trouble of changing schools. Should the children need to change schools, we'll assist with all of the logistics to make that happen," Porter said. "Once a new home is located, we will provide the majority of the household goods, from toiletries to shoes and clothes."

In addition to what his organization is doing for the family, Porter said there has also been outreach from the Evanston community, with fundraisers started to help support them.

He said one anonymous donor gave the family more than $20,000. Further, a campaign on the crowd-funding website GoFundMe raised over $2,000 of a $10,000 goal as of Tuesday.

Porter added that other donors have been giving the family money directly.

"In the short year they've been in Chicago, they have made deep friendships with others from the community who have been overwhelmingly generous in helping the family through this crisis," Porter said.